It is mostly about stories on the Korean people’s struggles against the U. S. bases in Korea. Hope many of you find some clues and sources here. Please just be kind and fair to the source.많은 분들께서 여기에서 단서들과 자료들을 찾길 바랍니다. 다만 단서와 자료의 기원에 대해 친절하고 공정하게 표기해 주시면 감사하겠읍니다.

Many people in the Jeju Island say the Gangjeong villagers' suffering on and struggle against naval base construction is increasingly becoming reminiscent of the Jeju 4. 3 uprising and massacre. While the whole truth of the Jeju 4. 3 is still to be excavated, the state power's illegal and unjust naval abse construction was going on the same day when three witness of 4. 3 said their horrible experience during the Jeju 4. 3. After 63 years, history is repeated and connected again between the past and present. The people will eventually win._____________________________________

A villager protesting against construction ships on March 30, 2011.

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History remains tasks: never completely cured 4.3: Witness said their horrible experience of Jeju April 3, 1948.

An elderly bereaved family member searches for his family members’ tombstones at the cemetery for missing victims of the Jeju Uprising at the Jeju April 3 Peace Memorial Park that is nearing completion.About 3,400 tombstones lie in rows, but a number of the remains beneath them have yet to be excavated and identified through DNA testing.

On the wall of the place of enshrinement, a phrase is written, “Who are you whose bones became miserable remains trapped together in a small, dark hole?”

The Jeju Uprising was a revolt on Jeju Island off the south coast of the Korean Peninsula that began on April 3, 1948. Around 25,000 residents were killed in fighting between various factions. In particular, there were massacres by the South Korean army that brutally suppressed the rebellion and destroyed many villages on the island.

South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission reported 14,373 victims, 86 percent at the hands of the security forces and 13.9 percent at the hands of armed rebels. In April 2006, then-President Roh Moo-Hyun officially apologized to the people of Jeju Province for this massacre.

The excavation is not yet underway because of a budget cut to Jeju that took place on April 3 of last year.

Defense Minister Kim Gwan-jin gives an explanation on tasks for national defense reform at the Ministry of National Defense on March 8, 2011. Although there arose some objections from mostly reservists, defense reform is a task urgently demanded by the times we live in.

It has been put off for at least 20 years, and if Koreans fail to do it now, Korea's military simply cannot be renewed, analysts pointed out. The Ministry of National Defense must expand support for defense reform among the actively serving military and also respond resolutely to those who oppose reform out of self-serving purposes. File photo by the Kyunghyang Daily NewsCaption by Seol Wontai, Editor of the Online English Edition _____________________________________________

Strong objections are being raised in and outside the military as the passing of the national defense reform bill approaches. Objections from those in active service, most of all from reservists, are of a sufficient level that Cheongwadae (the office of the president) yesterday warned of personnel replacements.

In a situation where national security has entered a critical phase, the impeding of defense reform by those in active service must be regarded as a form of "disobeying of orders" that is hard to condone.

There are two main objections to the so-called "Defense Reform Plan 307," which was decided upon by the Ministry of National Defense (MND) early this month.

The first is that if the plan grants some powers regarding personnel appointment and military supplies to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this will lead to a concentration of power within the military and contravene the principle of civilian control of it.

This is a logic that has been advocated by the navy and air force since 1988, when the government of President Roh Tae-woo came up with the "long-term national defense preparation development forecast" (the "8.18 Plan"), which essentially pushed for a unified military.

Given that at that time the dark shadow of military coup still lingered, there was some reason behind this logic. Another criticism is that it is inappropriate to reorganize the command structure in the higher echelons of the military at a time when big changes to the security environment on the Korean Peninsula are in progress, including the predicted transfer of power in North Korea next year.

Such criticisms, however, avoid the problems with our military that were revealed by the Cheonan sinking and Yeonpyeong Island incidents. The military showed a lack of coordination, even appearing flustered, both in terms of gathering and processing intelligence before the events, and in terms of reporting and responding afterwards.

The MND has come up with "Plan 307" in order to remedy these problems. Questioning the appropriateness of its timing is, itself, inappropriate.

Given this, it would seem valid to regard objections to defense reform as related to the possibility of tyranny on the part of the army among military services, and to the plan to reduce the number of generals.

If a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with an army background is also the head of a unified military headquarters, this could lead to a relative weakening of the navy and air force. And it is a fact that being promoted will become harder for officers if the number of generals drops from 440 to 380 by 2020.

The military's dissatisfaction is understandable. The problem is that, from the point of view of the ordinary Korean people, the military's objections appear to be made out of self-interest. The military must be aware of this.

Defense reform is a task demanded by the times we live in. It has been put off for at least 20 years, and if we fail to do it now, Korea's military simply cannot be renewed. The MND, while continuously increasing support for defense reform among the actively serving military, must respond resolutely to those who reject reform.

It goes without saying that the full support of Cheongwadae is needed here. Reservist groups such as the "Seonguhoe," association of generals, and other groups must also break free from their outdated logic, look at defense reform from a national perspective, and support it. (Editorial, The Kyunghyang Daily News. March 30, 2011)

About 200 people protested against the multi-nations' bombing on Libya, in the Boshingak, Seoul, 4pm, March 26, 2011. The protesters denouncing the bombings "not of humanitarian intervention but of another invasive war,' demanded to the western countries to immediately stop those.

People's Solidarity for Social Progresshttp://www.pssp.org/eng/?p=218PSSP’s Position on the UN’s 2nd Resolution and the Coalition Forces’ Attack on Libya25 March 2011

-The Western power must cease their attack on Libya immediately!-Libya’s liberation must be achieved by the Libyan people!

On 17 March 2011, the UN Security Council quickly adopted Resolution 1973, the second resolution imposing sanctions against Libya. Shortly thereafter, U.S., U.K. and France-dominated coalition forces began a military strike against Libya that has now gone on for several days without stop. The UN Security Councils speaks of the attack in humanitarian terms saying its goal is the protection of civilian life. We are certain, however, that the ultimate goal of the Resolution 1973 and the attack on Libya is to serve the imperialist goals of Western powers.

1. Libya’s anti-government forces and even the UN Security Council are not the ones who get to decide whether the attack will be limited to the goal of “protecting civilians” or not. It is the participating Western powers who decide the targets of military operations and the ultimate war aims. Libyan anti-government forces have no say whatsoever concerning the form, means or scope of military operations.

2. The Western powers are currently considering the next steps in their attack, including the possibility of sending in ground troops. It is true that Resolution 1973 does not allow for occupation of Libya. We only have to look a few years back, however, to know that this means little. With Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. said occupation was not the goal, but we all know what the result of the wars perpetrated on these countries were.

3. If the Iraq and Afghanistan experiences are repeated in Libya, then Libya’s future is dark regardless of whether it is the anti-government forces or the Western forces who ultimately depose Gaddaffi. The Western country’s power to make war is overwhelming, but their ability to bring peace, political security and economic prosperity to the countries that are the victims of their wars is sorrowfully weak. In addition, we can be sure that the elites the western governments help to bring to power will be the ones most beneficial to western oil companies, the ones most ready to deliver up Libya’s underground resources.

4. Contrary to what some claim, it has already been proven that western intervention is not the best means to prevent civilian casualties. The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 was disastrous, only serving to increase animosity and fear. In its wake the most horrible of racial cleansing campaigns occurred in Kosovo.

The ultimate goal of the Western power’s military action is to suppress the Arab people’s movement against western imperialism. We condemn the western power’s hypocritical talk of humanitarianism and call on the United States, the United Kingdom and France to end their attack on Libya immediately.

* Image source: Kyunghyang Shinmun, March 30, 2011 경향 신문(클릭)http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?code=710100&artid=20110330154834A&medid=APSouth Korean environmentalists stage a rally demanding halt of expansion of nuclear power plants by the government in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 29, 2011.Fears over possible radiation contamination are growing in South Korea, the country closest to Japan, after the latter's nuclear power plants were damaged by the March 11 tsunami. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

* Image source: Kyunghyang Shinmun, March 30, 2011 경향 신문(클릭)http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?code=710100&artid=20110328173354A&medid=APSouth Korean environmentalists stage a rally to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster in the United States, in front of the Myungdong Catholic Church in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 28, 2011

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Marking 32nd anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident---"Stop nuclear power plant." Environmentalists such as activists at the Coalition of the Environmental Movement stage a performance in front of Myungdong Cathedral, downtown Seoul demanding the Lee government to repeal the nuclear power - centered energy policy on March 28, 2011. The nuclear accident in Japan seems to have raised the level of sense of unease around the world. Photo by Seo Sung-il/ Caption by Seol Wontai

It has emerged that radioactive iodine and cesium released from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant have traveled on the wind and been spread all over Korea.

Although the amounts of the substances detected have been minute, their combination with the Korean government's belated response is increasing the Korean people's sense of unease.

At a briefing on March 29, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) president Yun Choul-ho stated that "the result of analyses of air samples gathered at all of Korea's 12 radioactivity measuring stations on March 28 showed minute amounts of radioactive iodine to be present at each station."

Levels of radioactive iodine detected ranged from 0.049mBq/m3 (millibecquerels) to 0.356 mBq/m3. In terms of exposure of the human body to radioactivity, this is equivalent to between 1/200,000th and 1/30,000th of the annual maximum dose of 1mSv (millisievert).

At one of Korea's measuring stations, in Chuncheon, cesium was detected in addition to radioactive iodine. The radioactive exposure represented by this amount of cesium, too, was equivalent to around 1/80,000th of the annual maximum dose of 1mSv.

"There is no need to link these discoveries to any possible risk to human health, in as much as they are minute quantities," said Yun.

KINS, however, has incurred distrust for its "belated response," including only starting nationwide radioactivity measurements two weeks after the Fukushima accident, despite the anticipated influx of radioactive substances, and delaying announcement of the fact that such substances had been detected.

The Korea Meteorological Association has also changed its stance, having previously just repeated that "westerly winds mean Korea is the safest country [from Japanese radiation] in the world."

President Lee Myung-bak said at a cabinet meeting on the same day that "Examination results must be made public swiftly and transparently in order to bring the people peace of mind. When it comes to amounts [of radioactivity] detected, experts must explain them to the people in an easily comprehensible manner and use specific illustrations."

Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan, meanwhile, at an upper house budget committee meeting on the same day, said that "the unpredictable emergency situation at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant continues. We will respond to it with the greatest urgency." (General News, Major story on the front page. The Kyunghyang Daily News. March 30, 2011)

Story by Jung Yu-jin and Tokyo correspondent Seo Eu-dong

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See also

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/470621.htmlNo More Fukushima: a poem for Yuko TsushimaMarch 30, 2011

Despite improvements, more than half of the Pentagon’s big weapons systems still cost more than they should, with management failures adding at least $70 billion to the projected costs over the last two years, government auditors said Tuesday.

The Government Accountability Office, a Congressional watchdog, said the biggest program, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, accounted for $28 billion of that increase. Other systems also had significant cost overruns, the agency said, adding that the increases could force the Pentagon to cut the number of ships and planes it buys. The auditors said many of the problems occurred because the Pentagon began building the systems before the designs were fully tested.

The findings were significant because Congress and the Obama administration have promised to change many of the practices that have long allowed weapons costs to spiral out of control.

President Obama signed a law in 2009 to improve contracting. The accountability office said that Pentagon officials had done a better job in starting new programs. But the agency also found that most of the new programs were not “fully adhering” to the best procedures, leaving them “at a higher risk for cost growth and schedule delays.”

Pentagon officials questioned some of the calculations. But Nancy L. Spruill, a Pentagon acquisition official, added in a letter to the auditors that the military was determined to “address cost growth where it is real and unacceptable.”

The defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, has acknowledged that the Pentagon lacked discipline as its budget more than doubled after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But with military budgets tightening, Mr. Gates has canceled several expensive systems and sought simpler alternatives.

All told, the accountability office said, the projected cost of the Pentagon’s largest programs has risen by $135 billion, or 9 percent, to $1.68 trillion since 2008. It estimated that about $65 billion of that increase resulted from decisions to buy more of some systems, like mine-resistant vehicles and Navy destroyers, than had been planned.

But it said the other $70 billion of increases appeared “to be indicative of production problems and inefficiencies or flawed initial cost estimates.”

The auditors also found that a significant part of the total cost increase for nearly 100 programs came from just a few of the largest and oldest ones.

The F-35, which is supposed to become the main fighter for the Air Force, the Navy and the Marines, had by far the worst problems. The Pentagon has revamped the program, led by Lockheed Martin, twice over the last year. It has budgeted an additional $6 billion for development, as well as the projected $28 billion increase in production costs, for a program that is expected to cost well over $300 billion. The report indicated that the Pentagon also had to spend $9 billion more on research and development to fix problems with satellites and other systems that had already entered production.

The auditors said the biggest problems occurred when the Pentagon changed the capabilities it sought or started production before critical technologies were ready.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Spring has come amidst the increasing tension between people and the navy whose forceful construction was still going on in the sea and land on March 29, as well. More people are gathering with more self-confidence on the struggle.

Navy's forceful maritime construction continued on March 29, 2011

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The Social Agreement Committee visited the Gangjeong village in the evening of March 29. The villagers strongly expressed their opinions against forceful naval base construction. It is still question whether the conflicts surrounding naval base issue will be settled only with the efforts focusing on conflicts. Unless the naval base construction plan is withdrawn, the conflicts will never be settled.

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People watching the coast in the night as soon as they heard that a barge ship was working on construction after mid-night.

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2011/03/text-fwd-translation-spark-discussion.htmlSPARK, “Discussion on the TTX will be retrogressive to the non-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula” ____________________________________* All the image source: Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea, March 29, 2011 평화와 통일을 여는 사람들(클릭)

The Ministry of National Defense should stop its import plan of F-35, which is to pour the people’s bloody tax to the fighter planes that have not been proved of their functions!110th Peace Disarmament rallyIn front of Ministry of National Defense12pm, March 29, 2011

Radioactive material apparently leaked from Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant has been detected in South Korea. According to the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), a minute quantity of xenon was detected by a radioactivity measurement site in Gangwon Province a few days ago, and it is surmised that some of the radioactive material from the Fukushima plant traveled to the Kamchatka Peninsula, rounded the polar regions, and returned south by way of Siberia.

While it was only an exceedingly small quantity incapable of having any negative effects on South Koreans’ health or environment, it still raises grave concerns. Contrary to government’s statements that the country is safe because of the westerlies, it has now been proven that radioactive material can arrive anywhere on the branches formed in the different regions.

With the detection of material in other areas affected by westerlies, including not only the United States and Europe but also neighboring China, the sense of alarm is heightening all over the world. Depending on how the analysis results turn out, there is a possibility that other radioactive materials besides xenon will be discovered. While xenon is relatively harmless to the human body, prolonged exposure is said to lead to lung ailments.

The Lee Myung-back administration must abandon its laid-back assessment of the situation and prepare far-ranging measures in consideration of a potential worst-case scenario. While the possibility of other radioactive materials besides xenon being detected is slight, infants and pregnant women can suffer harm from even small quantities, a fact that is prompting growing concerns.

Above all else, it needs to conduct thorough monitoring and notify the public in advance about the quantities and routes of any material that could enter the country. Nuclear power authorities reportedly discovered xenon in a sample collected on Mar. 23 but delayed the announcement for four days because the quantities were small and they were attempting to determine a connection with a possible North Korean nuclear test. This is untrustworthy behavior in light of concerns and anxieties among the South Korean public.

It is fortunate, at least, that the administration made the belated decision at an Atomic Energy Commission meeting presided over by the prime minister yesterday to examine the safety of all nuclear power plants in South Korea and confirm their security under worst-case scenario conditions. However, it also needs to set up thorough measures to prepare for the eventuality of radioactive material entering the Korean Peninsula from one of the surrounding countries.

China, which has thirteen nuclear power plants in operation, is planning to build 77 more in the future, which will make East Asia a high-density region for such plants. Should radioactive material leak from central China, it is said that it will enter the West Sea area two days later, and that all of South Korea will fall in a high-concentration impact zone after four days. If we imagine a situation like the Fukushima disaster occurring in China, the northwest and southeast winds would place the peninsula smack in the middle of a danger zone the likes of which are too terrible to contemplate. We hope to see the administration holding close discussions with China and Japan over the nuclear power plant safety issue.

The United Nations recently issued a recommendation that the international community supply more than 430 thousand tons of emergency aid to more than six million North Koreans. The time has come for the South Korean government to provide aid, not only to relieve the suffering of fellow Koreans but also in consideration of the actions of the international community.

The U.N. report indicates a serious food shortage in North Korea. The situation has worsened due to flooding last summer and frigid temperatures in the winter, and the report predicts that food supplies will run out some time between May and July. In particular, it warns of a grave danger of malnutrition and disease among vulnerable groups such as children, women, and the elderly. The World Food Programme (WFP), U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and UNICEF began visiting nine provinces and 40 counties in the country on Feb. 20 based on a principle of not supplying aid to any place they are unable to visit directly. It is for this reason that the latest report is recognized as having more objectivity and transparency than ever before.

It is evident that moves by the international community to provide food aid will pick up in the wake of this report. The current attitude from the United States is that political matters and humanitarian issues must be separately addressed. Washington has declared that it would make a decision as to whether to provide aid after the U.N. report came out, making it likely that it will soon begin taking follow-up measures. U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry also issued a statement urging the resumption of humanitarian food aid in line with the U.N.’s recommendation.

The problem is that the attitude from Seoul remains as rigid as ever. Officials of the Lee Myung-bak administration have offered various excuses for playing down the significance of the U.N. report. Officials have also expressed signs of mistaken confidence that even if the United States hopes to resume aid, they can convince it not to do so through bilateral discussions. Recently, the administration agreed to permit small-scale food aid at the private level to North Korean infants and small children. This is a typical strategy by the Lee administration to dodge criticism that it is avoiding humanitarian measures, while at the same time managing to avoid the provision of any real food aid at the governmental level.

The situation has simply become one of frustration. How long will Seoul alone insist on this inflexible attitude? Does our government feel comfortable bearing criticism that it has heartlessly turned its back on the suffering of fellow Koreans? The time has come to resume humanitarian food aid to North Korea regardless of the political situation. It may also serve as a starting point for thawing relations between North Korea and South Korea, which remain frosty as ever. We look forward to a fundamental change in perspective from the administration, if only out of consideration for the actions of the international community.

HankyorehA lopsided legal battle for companies named ‘Samseong’ Samsung uses corporate clout to root out long-established companies with the same name March 29, 2011By Roh Hyung-suk, Staff Writer

“They obstinately asked me to change the company’s name, citing the law. I was so angry, but it was too much for a small office to fight.”

An exasperated Jang Sun-yong, head of Samaseong Architects, one of the oldest architectural firms in South Korea, so pleaded his case, complaining of the utter difficulties he is experiencing changing his company’s name. In September, at the insistence of the Samsung Group, the office changed its name from Samseong (same Korean characters but different Chinese characters) to Samaseong, but most of the design requests, consultations and other major job communications come in the name of Samseong, which the company has used for around 40 years. Staff members are also unaccustomed to the name, leading to continued confusion.

It was early last year that the company was first asked to change its name. The office received a notice from YOU ME Patent & Law Firm, a firm hired by the Samsung Group to manage its corporate name.

“The Samsung Group patented its trademark and maintains exclusive rights to its use, therefore the Samseong architecture office may not use the same name, even if the Chinese character word roots were different,” the notice stated. “If the office does not change its name, we will be forced to respond with legal action.”

Jang said he was at first perplexed. Former office head, his father, had a close relationship with late Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull: this was because not only did he design Samsung’s Hoam Art Museum, but he also advised on other architectural projects. It is a well-known story in architecture circles that even Samoo Architects and Engineering, which is viewed in the architecture world as a virtual subsidiary of the Samsung Group, chose the name “Samoo” mindful of Samsung.

The governator of Maine took down the mural from the Department of Labor office sometime over the weekend. Was probably during the dark of night. He has hidden it and won't disclose the location. Even the artist of the mural had no idea her work was being removed nor does she know what was done with it. The Union of Maine Visual Artists is planning a news conference on Friday in the state capital Hall of Flags to demand the return of the mural and have invited me to speak on behalf of the Bring Our War $$ Home campaign. Things will start at noon.

The latest faux pas from the governator was his statement about prisoners in the Maine jail system getting "health care and some education" while old ladies go without. “If it were up to me, I’d find a dungeon very cheaply and house them all," he grunted as his divide the public against one another strategy continues to play out.

The National Police Agency in Japan announced today:

It gave up transportation of a man’s body found in Okuma-town, Fukushima prefecture within 10km from Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant. The body showed such a high level radioactive contamination that there is no way to carry it. There is possibility that more bodies are left in this 10km area. The agency says it has to plan “a measure to counter this”. The agency says the man's body was found by the Fukushima Prefectural Riot Police men and others who had been informed of it, in the open lot of a workshop 5 to 6 km from the nuclear plant.

The surface of the body counted radioactivity level of “over 100,000 CPM (count per minute) ” for which a whole body decontamination is required. There is possibility that while carrying it, the body will contaminate the men at work. The agency gave up moving the body because it will contaminate the recipients and the surroundings, too. The body is contained in a sack and laid in the nearby building for the time being.

Washington Post reports: The military intervention in Libya has cost the United States “about $550 million” in extra spending so far, a Defense Department spokeswoman said Tuesday, providing the first official estimate of the mission’s price tag. Almost 60 percent of the total cost has been for munitions — the most expensive of which are Tomahawk missiles, which cost more than $1 million each to replace.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

* Image source: News Jeju, March 28, 2011 뉴스 제주, 2011년 3월 28일 Cartoon by Go Gwon-Il, Gangjeong vilager, Jeju IslandThe navy says, "Sorry for crack-down"In the cartoon, the navy is enforcing the Jeju naval base construction in the Life and Peace village, Gangjeong, ignoring villagers' own vote, Island council's reversing resolution on the absolute preservation areas in the Gangjeong village despite its no plan for local development as the compensation of naval base construction and massive environmental destruction. The politicians are just watching. ________________________________________________ People prevented Samsung-subcontracted company's measuring for naval base maritime construction in the morning of March 28, 2011 The Samsung-subcontract company workers' attempt to measure and mark for construction in the Joongduk coast, Gangjeong village, was deterred by the villagers on March 28, 2011. Still there was a small red circle and probably more in the coast. The villagers are desperate to prevent the construction measure because it would allow the navy and construction companies’ concrete reclamation in this beautiful rocky coast.

(Video taken on March 28, 2011) ______________________________________ People prevented company measuring in the afternoon again. It was turned out that a company driver masked himself as a fishing man. He got strong protest from the villagers. ------------------------------- After prevention of company measuring, people stayed in the coast by evening. It is spring and the rocky coast is like mother. --------------------------------- The navy-contracted companies’ land construction was also going on along with their maritime construction on March 28. The navy is digging and flattening the earth, making a construction site near the beautiful Jinsokkak, an area of the Joongduk coast

About the Site

The site is managed by an artist living in the South Korea. The photo in the profile is the children in Osan, near the Pyeongtaek where the planned US military base hub in the north east Asia and a large US air base exists. They are the children of a teacher who manages the Children Peace School there. As a part of the class programs, the children in the class drew and wrote in a cloth, their wishes of the peaceful unification of Korea some day.